Inductor

ABSTRACT

Parasitic capacitance between upper and lower adjacent wirings of an inductor using a multilayer wiring layer in an insulating film formed on a base substrate is reduced. An inductor is characterized by having one go-around of go-around wiring (A-B or B-C) formed in each of at least two of adjacent wiring layers of a plurality of wiring layers  18  placed in an insulating film on a base substrate, and in that one end (B) of the one go-around of go-around wiring (A-B and B-C) formed in each of the at least two of wiring layers is connected to each other at a via and the one go-around of go-around wiring (A-B and B-C) formed in each of the at least two of wiring layers is placed at substantially the same position in a surface of the base substrate when viewed from an upper side of the base substrate.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/523,578, filed on Jul. 17, 2009, which is a National Stage ofInternational Application No. PCT/JP2008/051134, filed on Jan. 21, 2008,which claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-014061,the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a structure of an inductor disposed inan insulating film formed on a base substrate.

BACKGROUND ART

Recently, various high-speed digital wireless systems such as a wirelessLAN, Bluetooth, Terrestrial Digital Television have been put topractical use. Most of these wireless systems are realized by a circuitformed on a semiconductor chip, that is, an on-chip inductor.

Various types of inductors have ever been disclosed as an on-chipinductor. Inductors disclosed in Patent Literature 1 (Japanese PatentApplication Publication No. 07-142258), Patent Literature 2 (JapanesePatent Application Publication No. 08-017656) and Patent Literature 3(Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-245455) are inductorsin which go-around wiring is formed on a semiconductor substrate in aplanar manner via an insulating layer.

An inductor disclosed in Patent Literature 4 (Japanese PatentApplication Publication No. 2004-140165) is an inductor in whichgo-around wiring is formed in a wiring layer on a substrate in a planarmanner.

An inductor disclosed in Patent Literature 5 (Japanese PatentApplication Publication No. 2001-267512) is an inductor in which spiralpatterns each having the same shape are formed on two upper layersthereof in a three-layer wiring structure formed on a Si substrate andthey are connected in parallel.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

However, in the case of the inductors constructed in a planar manner asdescribed in Patent Literatures 1 to 4, it was difficult to increase thenumber of turns without increasing a device size when the number ofturns must be increased to increase inductance depending upon useapplication of the inductor.

Further, in the case where spiral patterns each having the same shapeare formed in two wiring layers formed on a Si substrate as described inPatent Literature 5, an interlayer film thickness is generally small ina multilayer wiring layer within an insulating film formed on asemiconductor substrate. Thus, large parasitic capacitance tends to begenerated depending upon wiring capacity between upper and lower ones.Increase in parasitic capacitance causes deterioration in performance ofthe inductor, such as lowing of a usable frequency. Moreover, in thecase where a number of wiring layers are simply used when the number ofturns must be increased to increase inductance depending upon useapplication of the inductor, the number of wirings having adjacentwiring above or below it becomes large. Thus, a problem of interwiringparasitic capacitance becomes pronounced.

An exemplary subject of the present invention is to solve the problemsdescribed above, and it is an exemplary object of the present inventionto reduce parasitic capacitance between upper and lower adjacent wiringsof an inductor using a multilayer wiring layer in an insulating filmformed on a base substrate.

Means for Solving the Problems

In order to achieve the above exemplary object, according to the presentinvention, an inductor that is at least two rolls of inductor placed inan insulating film formed on a base substrate, wherein the inductorincludes a first inductor, wherein the first inductor has one go-aroundof go-around wiring formed in each of at least two of adjacent wiringlayers of a plurality of wiring layers formed in the insulating film,wherein one end of the one go-around of go-around wiring formed in eachof the at least two of wiring layers is connected to each other at avia, and wherein the one go-around of go-around wiring formed in each ofthe at least two of wiring layers is placed at substantially the sameposition in a surface of the base substrate when viewed from an upperside of the base substrate, is obtained.

Effects of the Invention

According to this configuration, in the present invention, it ispossible to reduce parasitic capacitance between upper and loweradjacent wirings. This exemplary effect to reduce the parasiticcapacitance between wirings allows an inductor to restrain a usablefrequency from lowering.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a plan view of an inductor according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along the X-Y line of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an inductor (related art);

FIG. 3A is a plan view of an inductor according to Example 1 of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along the X-Y line of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a related inductor;

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a cross section of inductor wiring;

FIG. 6A is a view for explaining parasitic capacitance of the inductoraccording to Example 1;

FIG. 6B is a view for explaining parasitic capacitance of the relatedinductor of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a view showing a simulation result of parasitic capacitancesof the inductor of the present invention and the related inductor ofFIG. 4;

FIG. 8A is a plan view of an inductor according to Example 2 of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8B is a sectional view taken along the X-Y line of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining parasitic capacitance of the inductoraccording to Example 2;

FIG. 10A is a plan view of an inductor according to Example 3 of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10B is a sectional view taken along the X-Y line of FIG. 10A;

FIG. 11 is a view for explaining parasitic capacitance of the inductoraccording to Example 3;

FIG. 12A is a plan view of an inductor according to Example 4 of thepresent invention;

FIG. 12B is a sectional view taken along the X-Y line of FIG. 12A;

FIG. 13 is a view showing a simulation result of an inductance value ofthe inductor according to Example 4;

FIG. 14 is a view showing a simulation result of a Q value and aself-resonant frequency of the inductor according to Example 4;

FIG. 15A is a plan view of an inductor according to Example 5 of thepresent invention;

FIG. 15B is a sectional view taken along the X-Y line of FIG. 15A;

FIG. 16A is a plan view of an inductor according to Example 6 of thepresent invention;

FIG. 16B is a sectional view taken along the X-Y line of FIG. 16A;

FIG. 17A is a plan view of an inductor according to Example 7 of thepresent invention;

FIG. 17B is a sectional view taken along the X-Y line of FIG. 17A;

FIG. 18 is a view for explaining an inductor according to Example 8 ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 19 is a view showing an inductance value according to Example 8 ofthe present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present inventionwill be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.FIG. 1A is a plan view of an inductor according to the exemplaryembodiment of the present invention when viewed from an upper side of abase substrate 16. FIG. 1B is a sectional view of the inductor accordingto the exemplary embodiment of the present invention on the X-Y line ofFIG. 1A when viewed from a side direction of the base substrate 16. Theinductor according to the exemplary embodiment of the present inventionwas manufactured using M5 wiring 6 and M4 wiring 7 of the next lowerlayer in a six-layer Cu wiring process of a 90 nm node. A wiring widthwas 3 μm. Although an interlayer film thickness differs depending uponthe wiring layer, an interlayer film thickness between the M5 wiring 6and the M4 wiring 7 was about 0.3 μm. Outermost wiring of the inductorwhen viewed from the upper side of the base substrate 16 was made so asto form a square measuring 120 μm on a side.

On the other hand, an inductor (related art) shown in FIG. 2 wasmanufactured by the M5 wiring 6 in the six-layer Cu wiring process ofthe 90 nm node. A wiring width was similarly 3 μm, and outermost wiringof the inductor when viewed from an upper side of a base substrate 16was similarly made so as to form a square measuring 120 μm on a side.

In FIGS. 1A and 1B, inductor wiring L1 has one roll of upper layerwiring and one roll of lower layer wiring. The upper layer wiring andthe lower layer wiring are connected to each other in a via 2 at a pointB. A terminal L1-IN is connected to the point A of the upper layerwiring via a leader line 3, and a terminal L1-OUT is connected to thepoint C of the lower layer wiring via a leader line 3. On the otherhand, in FIG. 2, inductor wiring L1 has two rolls of upper layer wiringfor connecting between a point A and a point B.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1A and 1B, the inductor according to theexemplary embodiment of the present invention is two rolls of inductorplaced in an insulating film 17 formed on the base substrate 16 whereinthe inductor has one go-around of go-around wiring formed in each of twoadjacent wiring layers 18 of a plurality of wiring layers 18 in theinsulating film 17, one end of the one go-around of go-around wiringformed in each of the two wiring layers 18 is connected to each other ata via 2, and the one go-around of go-around wiring formed in each of thetwo wiring layers 18 is placed at substantially the same position in asurface of the base substrate 16 when viewed from the upper side of thebase substrate 16. On the other hand, an inductor of FIG. 2 is two rollsof planar inductor.

As can be seen by comparing FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2, the inductor accordingto the exemplary embodiment of the present invention has one go-aroundof go-around wiring formed in each of two adjacent wiring layers 18 of aplurality of wiring layers 18 in a six-layer Cu wiring process whereinone end of the one go-around of go-around wiring formed in each of thetwo wiring layers 18 is connected to each other at the via 2, and theone go-around of go-around wiring formed in each of the two wiringlayers 18 is placed at substantially the same position in a surface ofthe base substrate 16 when viewed from the upper side of the basesubstrate 16. Thus, it is possible to improve area efficiency whenviewed from the upper side of the base substrate 16 compared with theinductor of FIG. 2. For this reason, in the case where the number ofturns of the inductor is improved in order to make an inductance valuelarger, the number of turns can be improved without making an area whenviewed from the upper side of the base substrate 16 larger.

EXAMPLE 1

FIG. 3A is a plan view of an inductor according to Example 1 of thepresent invention when viewed from an upper side of a base substrate 16.FIG. 3B is a sectional view of the inductor according to Example 1 onthe X-Y line of FIG. 3A when viewed from a side direction of the basesubstrate 16. The inductor according to the present example wasmanufactured using M5 wiring 6 and M4 wiring 7 of the next lower layerin a six-layer Cu wiring process of a 90 nm node, as well as “Best Modefor Carrying Out the Invention”. A wiring width was 3 μm. Although aninterlayer film thickness differs depending upon the wiring layer, aninterlayer film thickness between the M5 wiring 6 and the M4 wiring 7was about 0.3 μm. Outermost wiring of the inductor when viewed from theupper side of the base substrate 16 was made so as to form a squaremeasuring 120 μm on a side.

On the other hand, a related inductor shown in FIG. 4 was manufacturedby the M5 wiring 6 in the six-layer Cu wiring process of the 90 nm node.A wiring width was similarly 3 μm, and outermost wiring of the inductorwhen viewed from an upper side of the base substrate 16 was similarlymade so as to form a square measuring 120 μm on a side.

In FIGS. 3A and 3B, inductor wiring L1 has one roll of first upper layerwiring and two rolls of lower layer wiring connected to the first upperlayer wiring in a via 2 at a point B. The inductor wiring L1 further hasone roll of second upper layer wiring connected to the lower layerwiring in a via 2 at a point C. A terminal L1-IN is connected to thepoint A of the first upper layer wiring via a leader line 3, and aterminal L1-OUT is connected to a point D of the second upper layerwiring via a leader line 3. On the other hand, in FIG. 4, the inductorwiring L1 has two rolls of upper layer wiring for connecting between apoint A and a point B and two rolls of lower layer wiring for connectingbetween the point B and a point C. The two rolls of upper layer wiringand the two rolls of lower layer wiring are connected to each other in avia 2 at the point B.

As can be seen from FIGS. 3A and 3B, the inductor according to thepresent invention is an inductor placed in an insulating film 17 formedon the base substrate 16 wherein the inductor has one go-around ofgo-around wiring formed in each of two adjacent wiring layers 18 of aplurality of wiring layers 18 in the insulating film 17, one end of theone go-around of go-around wiring formed in each of the two wiringlayers 18 is connected to each other at the via 2, and the one go-aroundof go-around wiring formed in each of the two wiring layers 18 is placedat substantially the same position in a surface of the base substrate 16when viewed from the upper side of the base substrate 16.

Further, the inductor according to the present invention has the onego-around of go-around wiring (lower layer wiring) when viewed from theupper side of the base substrate 16 and one go-around of anothergo-around wiring (lower layer wiring) connected to the other end of theone go-around of go-around wiring in any (lower layer wiring) of the twowiring layers. Namely, the one go-around of another go-around wiring(lower layer wiring) is placed inside the one go-around of go-aroundwiring (lower layer wiring) when viewed from the upper side of the basesubstrate 16. The one go-around of another go-around wiring (lower layerwiring) is also connected to one go-around of still another go-aroundwiring (upper layer wiring) at the via 2. The one go-around of anothergo-around wiring (lower layer wiring) and the one go-around of stillanother go-around wiring (upper layer wiring) are placed atsubstantially the same position in the surface of the base substrate 16when viewed from the upper side of the base substrate 16. In FIG. 3A, asignal entering a terminal A goes around upper layer wiring once, goesdown toward lower layer wiring at the point B, goes around the lowerlayer wiring twice, returns to the upper layer wiring from the point C,goes around the upper layer wiring once, and is outputted from the pointD.

On the other hand, as can be seen from FIG. 4, in a structure of therelated inductor, a signal entering from a terminal A goes around upperlayer wiring twice, goes down toward lower layer wiring at the point B,goes around lower layer wiring twice, and is outputted from the point C.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a cross section of general on-chipinductor wiring. In FIG. 5, parasitic capacitances Ch14, Cv15 existbetween upper layer wirings Ltop1 10 and Ltop2 11 and between lowerlayer wirings Lbot1 12 and Lbot2 13, respectively. Here, a Ch is acapacity between right and left wirings, and a Cv is a capacity betweenupper and lower wirings. Here, in each wiring, a wiring width is largerthan a wiring film thickness, and a wiring interval is wider than aninterlayer film thickness of the wiring. This becomes Cv>>Ch. Namely,parasitic capacitance of inductor wiring is dominant between the upperand lower adjacent wirings rather than between the right and leftadjacent wirings.

FIGS. 6A and 6B respectively show states of parasitic capacitance of theinductor of the present example (FIGS. 3A and 3B) and the relatedinductor (FIG. 4). An Lbot indicates inductance of the lower layerwiring, and an Ltop indicates inductance of the upper layer wiring. Inthe case of the inductor according to the present example of FIG. 6A, asignal passing through the wiring passes through lower wiring when itgoes around once. Therefore, it can be modeled that a Cint is connectedto both sides of the Lbot. For this reason, since the Cint is notdirectly seen from the terminals A to D, an influence of this capacityCint is reduced. On the other hand, in the case of the related inductor(FIG. 4) of FIG. 6B, a signal passing through the wiring moves towardthe lower wiring after it terminates to go around the layer. For thisreason, it becomes a model so that the Cint is directly coupled to theterminals A to C. For this reason, an influence of the Cint appearslargely. As described above, the inductor according to the presentinvention can reduce parasitic capacitance of the wiring.

In order to demonstrate effects of the present invention,characteristics of the inductor according to the present invention andrelated inductor (FIG. 4) were examined by a three-dimensionalelectromagnetic field simulation. Here, FIG. 7 shows a result obtainedby carrying out a three-dimensional electromagnetic field simulationusing the respective conditions used as the manufacturing process, thatis, the M5 wiring 6 and the M4 wiring 7 in the six-layer Cu wiringprocess of the 90 nm node, a wiring width of 3 μm, an interlayer filmthickness of 0.3 μm, and outermost wiring of the inductor when viewedfrom the upper side of the base substrate 16 being a square measuring120 μm on a side. As can be seen from FIG. 7, since the inductoraccording to the present invention can reduce parasitic capacitancecompared with the related inductor (FIG. 4), an inductance value ispositive up to a high frequency, that is, it can be seen to function asan inductor. Here, an effect to reduce the parasitic capacitance hasbeen examined with a shape of outermost wiring of the inductor being asquare measuring 120 μm on a side. The effect of the present inventionis obtained markedly as a size of the inductor is miniaturized.

EXAMPLE 2

FIG. 8A is a plan view of an inductor according to Example 2 of thepresent invention when viewed from an upper side of a base substrate 16.FIG. 8B is a sectional view of the inductor according to Example 2 onthe X-Y line of FIG. 8A when viewed from a side direction of the basesubstrate 16. The inductor of Example 2 was manufactured using M5 wiring6, M4 wiring 7 of the next lower layer and M3 wiring 8 of the next lowerlayer in a six-layer Cu wiring process of a 90 nm node. A wiring widthwas 3 μm. Each interlayer film thickness was about 0.3 μm. Outermostwiring of the inductor when viewed from the upper side of the basesubstrate 16 was made so as to form a square measuring 120 μm on a side.

In FIGS. 8A and 8B, inductor wiring L1 has one roll of upper layerwiring and one roll of intermediate layer wiring connected to the upperlayer wiring in a via 2 at a point B. Moreover, the inductor wiring L1has one roll of lower layer wiring connected to the intermediate layerwiring in a via 2 at a point C. A terminal L1-IN is connected to thepoint A of the upper layer wiring via a leader line 3, and a terminalL1-OUT is connected to a point D of the lower layer wiring via a leaderline 3.

As can be seen from FIGS. 8A and 8B, the inductor according to thepresent invention is an inductor placed in an insulating film 17 formedon the base substrate 16 wherein the inductor has one go-around ofgo-around wiring formed in each of two adjacent wiring layers (upperlayer wiring and intermediate layer wiring) 18 of a plurality of wiringlayers 18 in the insulating film 17, one end of the one go-around ofgo-around wiring formed in each of the two wiring layers 18 is connectedto each other at the via 2, and the one go-around of go-around wiringformed in each of the two wiring layers 18 is placed at substantiallythe same position in a surface of the base substrate 16 when viewed fromthe upper side of the base substrate 16.

Further, in the inductor according to the present invention, onego-around of go-around wiring when viewed from the upper side of thebase substrate 16 is also connected to the one go-around of go-aroundwiring formed in any (intermediate layer wiring) of the two wiringlayers 18 in the via 2 at the point C in the wiring layer (lower layerwiring) 18 of a lower layer of the two wiring layers. The one go-aroundof go-around wiring of the wiring layer (lower layer wiring) 18 of thelower layer of the two wiring layers and the one go-around of go-aroundwiring formed in each of the two wiring layers (upper layer wiring andintermediate layer wiring) 18 are placed at substantially the sameposition in the surface of the base substrate 16 when viewed from theupper side of the base substrate 16. In the present example, anothergo-around wiring is not placed inside the one go-around of go-aroundwiring when viewed from the upper side of the base substrate 16. In FIG.8A, a signal entering a terminal A goes around upper layer wiring once,goes down toward intermediate layer wiring at the point B, goes aroundthe intermediate layer wiring once, goes down toward further lower layerwiring from the point C, goes around the lower layer wiring once, and isoutputted from the point D.

FIG. 9 shows a state of parasitic capacitance of the inductor accordingto the present example. An Lbot indicates inductance of the lower layerwiring, an Lmid indicates inductance of the intermediate layer wiring,and an Ltop indicates inductance of the upper layer wiring. In the caseof the inductor of FIGS. 8A and 8B according to the present example, asignal passing through the wiring passes through the lower wiring whenit goes around once. Therefore, it can be modeled that a Cint isconnected to both sides of the Lbot. For this reason, since the Cint isnot directly seen from the terminals A to D, an influence of thiscapacity is reduced. For this reason, the inductor according to thepresent invention can reduce parasitic capacitance of the wiring bymeans of the similar mechanism to that of the inductor according toExample 1.

EXAMPLE 3

FIG. 10A is a plan view of an inductor according to Example 3 of thepresent invention when viewed from an upper side of a base substrate 16.FIG. 10B is a sectional view of the inductor according to Example 3 onthe X-Y line of FIG. 10A when viewed from a side direction of the basesubstrate 16. The inductor according to Example 3 was manufactured bythe similar process to that in Example 2. Outermost wiring of theinductor when viewed from the upper side of the base substrate 16 wassimilarly made so as to form a square measuring 120 μm on a side.

In FIGS. 10A and 10B, inductor wiring L1 has one roll of upper layerwiring and two rolls of intermediate layer wiring connected to the upperlayer wiring in a via 2 at a point B. Moreover, the inductor wiring L1has one roll of lower layer wiring connected to the intermediate layerwiring in a via 2 at a point C. A terminal L1-IN is connected to a pointA of the upper layer wiring via a leader line 3, and a terminal L1-OUTis connected to a point D of the lower layer wiring via a leader line 3.

As can be seen from FIGS. 10A and 10B, the inductor according to thepresent invention is an inductor placed in an insulating film 17 formedon a base substrate 16 wherein the inductor has one go-around ofgo-around wiring formed in each of two adjacent wiring layers (upperlayer wiring and intermediate layer wiring) 18 of a plurality of wiringlayers 18 in the insulating film 17, one end of the one go-around ofgo-around wiring formed in each of the two wiring layers 18 is connectedto each other at a via 2, and the one go-around of go-around wiringformed in each of the two wiring layers 18 is placed at substantiallythe same position in a surface of the base substrate 16 when viewed fromthe upper side of the base substrate 16.

Further, the inductor according to the present invention has the onego-around of go-around wiring (intermediate layer wiring) when viewedfrom the upper side of the base substrate 16 and one go-around ofanother go-around wiring (intermediate layer wiring) connected to theother end of the one go-around of go-around wiring in any (intermediatelayer wiring) of the two wiring layers. Namely, the one go-around ofanother go-around wiring (intermediate layer wiring) is placed insidethe one go-around of go-around wiring (intermediate layer wiring) whenviewed from the upper side of the base substrate 16. The one go-aroundof another go-around wiring (intermediate layer wiring) is alsoconnected to one go-around of still another go-around wiring (lowerlayer wiring) in the via 2 at the point C. The one go-around of anothergo-around wiring (intermediate layer wiring) and the one go-around ofstill another go-around wiring (lower layer wiring) are placed atsubstantially the same position in the surface of the base substrate 16when viewed from the upper side of the base substrate 16.

To put it all together, a signal entering from the terminal A of thefirst inductor first goes around upper layer wiring once, goes downtoward intermediate layer wiring to go around the intermediate layerwiring twice, goes down toward lower layer wiring, and is outputted fromthe point D. Here, the go-around wiring outside the intermediate layerwiring and the upper layer wiring are placed at substantially the sameposition when viewed from the upper side of the base substrate 16, andthe go-around wiring of the lower layer wiring and the go-around wiringinside the intermediate layer wiring are placed at substantially thesame position when viewed from the upper side of the base substrate 16.Here, although the case where the number of wiring layers spending forthe L1 is three layers has been explained, the case where the number ofwiring layers spending the L1 is three layers or more is alsoconstructed similarly.

FIG. 11 shows a state of parasitic capacitance of the inductor accordingto the present example. An Lbot indicates inductance of the lower layerwiring, an Lmid indicates inductance of the intermediate layer wiring,and an Ltop indicates inductance of the upper layer wiring. In the caseof the inductor of FIGS. 10A and 10B according to the present example, asignal passing through the wiring passes through the lower wiring whenit goes around once. Therefore, it can be modeled that a Cint isconnected to both sides of the Lbot. For this reason, since the Cint isnot directly seen from the terminals A to D, an influence of thiscapacity is reduced. For this reason, the inductor according to thepresent invention can reduce parasitic capacitance of the wiring bymeans of the similar mechanism to those of the inductors according toExamples 1, 2.

EXAMPLE 4

FIG. 12A is a plan view of an inductor according to Example 4 of thepresent invention when viewed from an upper side of a base substrate 16.FIG. 12B is a sectional view of the inductor according to Example 4 onthe X-Y line of FIG. 12A when viewed from a side direction of the basesubstrate 16. As can be seen from FIGS. 12A and 12B, the inductoraccording to the present example is constructed so that a secondinductor L2 is further placed outside an inductor (hereinafter, referredto as a “first inductor”) L1 with a configuration of Example 1 (FIGS. 3Aand 3B) when viewed from an upper side of the base substrate 16, and thefirst inductor L1 and the second inductor L2 are magnetically coupled.

The inductor according to the present example was manufactured using asix-layer Cu wiring process of a 90 nm node. The second inductor L2 wasmanufactured using M6 wiring 9 of an uppermost layer, and the firstinductor L1 was manufactured using M5 wiring 6 and M4 wiring 7 of thenext lower layer. A wiring width of the M6 wiring 9 was 10 μm, and awiring width of each of the M5 wiring 6 and the M4 wiring 7 was 3 μm.Interlayer film thicknesses were respectively about 0.9 μm between theM6 wiring 9 and the M5 wiring 6 and about 0.3 μm between the M5 wiring 6and the M4 wiring 7. Outermost wiring of the first inductor L1 whenviewed from the upper side of the base substrate 16 was made so as toform a square measuring 120 μm on a side, and the second inductor L2 wasprovided outside it.

Namely, in FIGS. 12A and 12B, inductor wiring L2 is provided outsideinductor wiring L1 with the similar structure to that in Example 1(FIGS. 3A and 3B). This inductor wiring L2 has one roll of uppermostlayer wiring for connecting between a terminal L2-IN and a terminalL2-OUT.

FIG. 13 shows a result obtained by examining characteristics of theinductor according to Example 4 with a three-dimensional electromagneticfield simulation using the above conditions used as the manufacturingprocess in order to demonstrate the effects of the present invention. Inthis regard, the L2 goes around twice here. FIGS. 13 and 14 show aninductance value and a Q value of a secondary side L2 when to short andopen a terminal of the inductor of a primary side L1. The case where therelated inductor of FIG. 4 is used at the L1 side is shown as acomparative example. As can be seen from FIGS. 13 and 14, it can be seenthat the characteristics of the inductor according to the presentinvention when to open the L1 differ little from those of the relatedinductor (FIG. 4), but, when to short the L1, the inductor according tothe present invention can obtain a wider variable band, a higher Q valueand a higher self-resonant frequency (the frequency at which the Q valuebecomes 0) than the related inductor (FIG. 4). Thus, the inductoraccording to the present invention can improve the characteristics ofthe inductor by reducing parasitic capacitance.

In this regard, although the present example is an example in which thesecond inductor L2 is provided outside the first inductor L1 when viewedfrom the upper side of the base substrate 16, the second inductor L2 maybe coupled to the first inductor L1 magnetically, necessarily andsufficiently. For this reason, a position of the second inductor L2 isnot limited to this, and the second inductor L2 may be at substantiallythe same position as that of the first inductor L1 when viewed from theupper side of the base substrate 16, or may be inside the first inductorL1.

In this regard, generally, when it is assumed that self-inductances ofthe first and second inductors L1 and L2 respectively denote L1 and L2,a mutual inductance between the L1 and the L2 denotes M, and seriesresistances of the first and second inductors L1 and L2 respectivelydenote R1 and R2, inductance and series resistance when viewed from bothsides of the L2 are expressed as follows.

Namely, the inductance is expressed by:L2(1−k ²).  (1)

The series resistance is expressed by:R2+k ²(L2/L1).  (2)

Here, k is coupling constant, and isk=M/{(L1L2)^(1/2)}.  (3)

where k indicates the degree of coupling of L1 and L2 of trans, andtakes a value from 0 to 1.

When the series resistance when viewed from both sides of the L2 sidebecomes larger, a problem of a phase noise becomes obvious. Thus, it isdesirable that the series resistance is kept low as much as possible. Inorder to reduce the series resistance, as is apparent from theexpression (2), the L1 may be made larger compared with the L2. Namely,the number of turns of the L1 may be increased. Alternatively, the R2may be reduced.

Since the inductor according to the present invention uses a multilayerwiring layer in the insulating film formed on the base substrate 16, itis easy to increase the number of turns of the inductor without making adevice size large. For this reason, in order to reduce a phase noise,the number of turns of the L1 of FIGS. 12A and 12B should be increasedas much as possible by taking advantage of a merit of multilayer wiring.

Further, by forming the inductor of the L2 of the wiring layer with thethickest film thickness, the R2 can be reduced. This makes it possibleto restrain a phase noise. For this reason, it is desirable that theinductor of the L2 is formed of a wiring layer with as small wiringresistance as possible, preferably of a wiring layer with the thickestfilm thickness used in the process, the L1 is formed of a wiring layerother than the wiring layer of the thickest film thickness. In thenormal process, the thickest film thickness layer is formed at theuppermost layer.

Moreover, in order to reduce series resistance when viewed from bothsides of the L2 side, it is preferable that a wiring width of the L2 isa wiring width of the L1 or wider. In a normal process, a wiring widthof the thickest film thickness layer is larger than a wiring width of afilm thickness layer with thinner film thickness than it. Therefore, inthe case where the inductor of the L2 is formed of the wiring layer withthe thickest film thickness, this condition is met.

EXAMPLE 5

FIG. 15A is a plan view of an inductor according to Example 5 of thepresent invention when viewed from an upper side of a base substrate 16.FIG. 15B is a sectional view of the inductor according to Example 5 onthe X-Y line of FIG. 15A when viewed from a side direction of the basesubstrate 16. As can be seen from FIGS. 15A and 15B, the inductoraccording to the present example is one wherein a second inductor L2 isfurther provided outside an inductor (hereinafter, referred to as a“first inductor”) L1 with the configuration of FIGS. 1A and 1B whenviewed from an upper side of the base substrate 16, and the firstinductor L1 and the second inductor L2 are magnetically coupled.

The inductor according to the present example was manufactured using asix-layer Cu wiring process of a 90 nm node. The second inductor L2 wasmanufactured using M6 wiring 9 of an uppermost layer, and the firstinductor L1 was manufactured using M5 wiring 6 and M4 wiring 7 of thenext lower layer. A wiring width of the M6 wiring 9 was 10 μm, and awiring width of each of the M5 wiring 6 and the M4 wiring 7 was 3 μm. Aninterlayer film thickness between the M6 wiring 9 and the M5 wiring 6was about 0.9 μm, and an interlayer film thickness between the M5 wiring6 and the M4 wiring 7 was about 0.3 μm. Outermost wiring of the firstinductor L1 when viewed from the upper side of the base substrate 16 wasmade so as to form a square measuring 120 μm on a side, and the secondinductor L2 was provided outside it.

Namely, in FIGS. 15A and 15B, inductor wiring L2 is provided outsideinductor wiring L1 with the similar structure to that in FIGS. 1A and1B. This inductor wiring L2 has one roll of uppermost layer wiring forconnecting between a terminal L2-IN and a terminal L2-OUT.

As is made apparent by the inductor shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, since thefirst inductor L1 can reduce parasitic capacitance between upper andlower wiring layers, the inductor according to the present invention canobtain a high Q value and a high self-resonant frequency when to shortthe L1 by means of the similar mechanism to that in Example 4. Thus, theinductor according to the present invention can improve characteristicsof the inductor by reducing the parasitic capacitance between upper andlower wirings.

In this regard, as well as the case of Example 4, in the case of thepresent example, the second inductor L2 may be at substantially the sameposition as that of the first inductor L1 when viewed from the upperside of the base substrate 16, or may be inside the first inductor L1.

EXAMPLE 6

FIG. 16A is a plan view of an inductor according to Example 6 of thepresent invention when viewed from an upper side of a base substrate 16.FIG. 16B is a sectional view of the inductor according to Example 6 onthe X-Y line of FIG. 16A when viewed from a side direction of the basesubstrate 16. As can be seen from FIGS. 16A and 16B, the inductoraccording to the present example is one wherein a second inductor L2 isfurther provided outside an inductor (hereinafter, referred to as a“first inductor”) L1 with the configuration of Example 2 (FIGS. 8A and8B) when viewed from an upper side of the base substrate 16, and thefirst inductor L1 and the second inductor L2 are magnetically coupled.

The inductor according to the present example was manufactured using asix-layer Cu wiring process of a 90 nm node. The second inductor L2 wasmanufactured using M6 wiring 9 of an uppermost layer, and the firstinductor L1 was manufactured using M5 wiring 6, M4 wiring 7 of the nextlower layer and M3 wiring 8 of the next lower layer. A wiring width ofthe M6 wiring 9 was 10 μm, and a wiring width of each of the M5 wiring6, the M4 wiring 7 and the M3 wiring 8 was 3 μm. An interlayer filmthickness between the M6 wiring 9 and the M5 wiring 6 was about 0.9 μm,and each of an interlayer film thickness between the M5 wiring 6 and theM4 wiring 7 and an interlayer film thickness between the M4 wiring 7 andthe M3 wiring 8 was about 0.3 μm. Outermost wiring of the first inductorL1 when viewed from the upper side of the base substrate 16 was made soas to form a square measuring 120 μm on a side, and the second inductorL2 was provided outside it.

Namely, in FIGS. 16A and 16B, inductor wiring L2 is provided outsideinductor wiring L1 with the similar structure to that in FIGS. 8A and8B. This inductor wiring L2 has one roll of uppermost layer wiring forconnecting between a terminal L2-IN and a terminal L2-OUT.

As is clear by Example 2 (FIGS. 8A and 8B), since the first inductor L1can reduce parasitic capacitance between upper and lower wiring layers,the inductor according to the present invention can obtain a high Qvalue and a high self-resonant frequency when to short the L1 by meansof the similar mechanism to that in Example 4. Thus, the inductoraccording to the present invention can improve characteristics of theinductor by reducing the parasitic capacitance between upper and lowerwirings.

In this regard, as well as the cases of Examples 4 and 5, in the case ofthe present example, the second inductor L2 may be at substantially thesame position as that of the first inductor L1 when viewed from theupper side of the base substrate 16, or may be inside the first inductorL1.

Moreover, as well as the case of Example 4, in order to reduce seriesresistance when viewed from both sides of the L2 side, the number ofturns of the L1 should be increased as much as possible by takingadvantage of a merit of multilayer wiring. Further, in order to reducethe series resistance, it is preferable that the L2 is formed in awiring layer of the thickest film thickness layer, the L1 is formed in awiring layer other than the thickest film thickness layer, and a wiringwidth of the L2 is a wiring width of the L1 or wider. This makes itpossible to restrain a phase noise from occurring more effectively.

EXAMPLE 7

FIG. 17A is a plan view of an inductor according to Example 7 of thepresent invention when viewed from an upper side of a base substrate 16.FIG. 17B is a sectional view of the inductor according to Example 7 onthe X-Y line of FIG. 17A when viewed from a side direction of the basesubstrate 16. As can be seen from FIGS. 17A and 17B, the inductoraccording to Example 7 is one wherein a second inductor L2 is furtherprovided outside an inductor (hereinafter, referred to as a “firstinductor”) L1 with the configuration of Example 3 (FIGS. 10A and 10B)when viewed from an upper side of the base substrate 16, and the firstinductor L1 and the second inductor L2 are magnetically coupled.

The inductor according to the present example was manufactured using asix-layer Cu wiring process of a 90 nm node. The second inductor L2 wasmanufactured using M6 wiring 9 of an uppermost layer, and the firstinductor L1 was manufactured using M5 wiring 6, M4 wiring 7 of the nextlower layer and M3 wiring 8 of the next lower layer. A wiring width ofthe M6 wiring 9 was 10 μm, and a wiring width of each of the M5 wiring6, the M4 wiring 7 and the M3 wiring 8 was 3 μm. An interlayer filmthickness between the M6 wiring 9 and the M5 wiring 6 was about 0.9 μm,and each of an interlayer film thickness between the M5 wiring 6 and theM4 wiring 7 and an interlayer film thickness between the M4 wiring 7 andthe M3 wiring 8 was about 0.3 μm. Outermost wiring of the first inductorL1 when viewed from the upper side of the base substrate 16 was made soas to form a square measuring 120 μm on a side, and the second inductorL2 was provided outside it.

As is clear from Example 3 (FIGS. 10A and 10B), since the first inductorL1 can reduce parasitic capacitance between upper and lower wiringlayers, the inductor according to the present invention can obtain ahigh Q value and a high self-resonant frequency when to short the L1 bymeans of the similar mechanism to that in Example 4. Thus, the inductoraccording to the present invention can improve characteristics of theinductor by reducing the parasitic capacitance between the upper andlower wirings.

In this regard, as well as the cases of Examples 4 to 6, in the case ofthe present example, the second inductor L2 may be at substantially thesame position as that of the first inductor L1 when viewed from theupper side of the base substrate 16, or may be inside the first inductorL1.

Moreover, as well as the case of Example 4, in order to reduce seriesresistance when viewed from both sides of the L2 side, the number ofturns of the L1 should be increased as much as possible by takingadvantage of a merit of multilayer wiring. Further, in order to reducethe series resistance, it is desirable that the L2 is formed in a wiringlayer of the thickest film thickness layer, the L1 is formed in a wiringlayer other than the thickest film thickness layer, and a wiring widthof the L2 is a wiring width of the L1 or wider. This makes it possibleto restrain a phase noise from occurring more effectively.

EXAMPLE 8

In Example 8 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 18, a sourceterminal S and a drain terminal D of an n type MISFET 5 wererespectively connected to both terminals L1-IN and L1-OUT connected to astart point AL1-IN and an end point D of an L1 of the inductor ofExample 4 (FIGS. 12A and 12B). The source terminal S is fixed at groundpotential. Gate voltage Vcnt is applied to a gate terminal G of the ntype MISFET 5. This makes it possible to prevent a noise due toindefiniteness of electric potential of the inductor. Here, the elementto be connected to the L1 may be not only an n type, but also a p type.Further, the n type and the p type may be connected in parallel.Moreover, it may be not only a MISFET (Metal Insulator SemiconductorField Effect Transistor), but also a MESFET (MEtal InsulatorSemiconductor Field Effect Transistor). FIG. 19 shows change ininductance of the L2 when the gate voltage Vcnt to be applied to thegate terminal G of the n type MISFET 5 is changed. As can be seen fromFIG. 19, it can be seen that an inductance value becomes variable bychanging the gate voltage.

Since the inductor according to the present example can reduce acapacity between upper and lower adjacent wirings of the L1 side asdescribed in Example 4, it is possible to restrain an upper limitfrequency of a band width due to the wiring capacity from lowering inthe case of a variable inductor.

In this regard, the variable inductor according to the present examplehas used the MISFET at both sides of the L1. However, since the voltageof both sides of the L1 may be able to be changed in an analog manner,various elements capable of changing a voltage value in an analogmanner, such as variable resistance, can be used appropriately.

Further, even in the case where various elements capable of changing avoltage value in an analog manner are used at both sides of the L1 ofthe inductors according to Examples 5 to 7, the similar effect to thatin the present example can be obtained.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to the exemplary embodiment and the examples thereof, theinvention is not limited to the embodiment and the examples. It will beunderstood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes inform and details may be made therein without departing from the spritand scope of this invention as defined by the claims.

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese patent application No. 2007-014061, filed Jan. 24, 2007, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An inductor comprising at least four rollsof inductor placed in an insulating film formed on abuse substrate,wherein the inductor comprises a first inductor, wherein the firstinductor comprises a one go-around of a first go-around wiring and a onego-around of a second go-around wiring, the one go-around of the firstgo-around wiring and the one go-around of the second go-around wiringbeing formed in first and second wiring layers, respectively, of aplurality of wiring layers formed in the insulating film, wherein theone go-around of the first go-around wiring formed in the first wiringlayer and the one go-around of the second go-around wiring formed in thesecond wiring layer have one end connected to each other by a first via,wherein the one go-around of the first go-around wiring formed in thefirst wiring layer and the one go-around of the second go-around wiringformed in the second wiring layer are placed at substantially the sameposition in a surface of the base substrate when viewed from an upperside of the base substrate, wherein the first inductor further comprisesa one go-around of a third go-around wiring formed in the second wiringlayer, the one go-around of the third so-around wiring having one enddirectly connected, without use of any via, to another end of the onego-around of the second go-around wiring formed in the second wiringlayer, wherein the first inductor further comprises a one go-around of afourth go-around wiring formed in a third wiring layer, one end ofgo-around of the forth go-around wiring and another end of go-round ofthe third go-around wiring is connected to each other by a second via,wherein the one go-around of the third go-around wiring formed in thesecond wiring layer and the one go-around of the fourth go-around wiringformed in the third wiring layer are placed at substantially the sameposition in the surface of the base substrate when viewed from the upperside of the base substrate, and wherein the one go-around of the thirdgo-around wiring and the one go-around of the fourth go-around wiringare placed inside the one go-around of the first go-around wiring formedin the first wiring layer and the one go-around of the second go-aroundwiring formed in the second wiring layer when viewed from the upper sideof the base substrate.
 2. The inductor as claimed in claim 1, wherein awiring interval between the one go-around of the second go-around wiringand the one go-around of the third go-around wiring formed in the secondwiring layer is larger than a wiring interval between adjacent two ofthe first, the second and the third wiring layers.
 3. The inductor asclaimed in claim 1, wherein a second inductor is placed in any of theplurality of wiring layers, and wherein the first inductor and thesecond inductor are magnetically coupled.
 4. The inductor as claimed inclaim 3, wherein the second inductor is placed outside or inside thefirst inductor when viewed from the upper side of the base substrate, orplaced at substantially the same position as that of the first inductor.5. The inductor as claimed in claim 3, wherein inductance of the firstinductor is larger than inductance of the second inductor.
 6. Theinductor as claimed in claim 3, wherein wiring of the second inductorincludes wiring formed in a wiring layer with the thickest filmthickness of the plurality of wiring layers.
 7. The inductor as claimedin claim 3, wherein a wiring width of the first inductor is a wiringwidth of wiring of the second inductor or narrower.
 8. The inductor asclaimed in claim 3, wherein wiring of the first inductor is formed in awiring layer other than the wiring layer with the thickest filmthickness of the plurality of wiring layers.
 9. The inductor as claimedin claim 3, wherein one terminal of a variable resistance element isconnected to a start point of the first inductor, and the other terminalof the variable resistance element is connected to an end point of thefirst inductor.
 10. An inductor comprising at least four rolls ofinductor placed in an insulating film formed on a base substrate,wherein the inductor comprises a first inductor, wherein the firstinductor comprises a one go-around of a first go-around wiring and a onego-around of a second go-around wiring, the one go-around of the firstgo-around wiring and the one go-around of the second go-around wiringbeing formed in first and second wiring layers, respectively, of aplurality of wiring layers formed in the insulating film, wherein theone go-around of the first go-around wiring formed in the first wiringlayer and the one go-around of the second go-around wiring formed in thesecond wiring layer have one end connected to each other by a first via,wherein the one go-around of the first go-around wiring formed in thefirst wiring layer and the one go-around of the second go-around wiringformed in the second wiring layer are placed at substantially the sameposition in a surface of the base substrate when viewed from an upperside of the base substrate, wherein the first inductor further comprisesa one go-around of a third go-around wiring formed in the second wiringlayer, the one go-around of the third go-around wiring having one enddirectly connected, without use of any via, to another end of the onego-around of the second go-around wiring in the second wiring layer,wherein the first inductor further comprises a one go-around of a fourthgo-around wiring formed in the first wiring layer, the one go-around ofthe fourth go-around wiring having one end connected by a second via, toanother end of the one go-around of the third go-around wiring, whereinthe one go-around of the third go-around wiring formed in the secondwiring layer and the one go-around of the fourth go-around wiring formedin the first wiring layer are placed at substantially the same positionin the surface of the base substrate when viewed from the upper side ofthe base substrate, wherein the one go-around of the third go-aroundwiring and the one go-around of the fourth go-around wiring are placedinside the one go-around of the first go-around wiring and the onego-around of the second go-around wiring when viewed from the upper sideof the base substrate, and wherein the first inductor further comprisesan input terminal connected to another end of the one go-around of thefirst go-around wiring formed in the first wiring layer, and an outputterminal connected to another end of the one go-around of the fourthgo-around wiring formed in the first wiring layer.
 11. The inductor asclaimed in claim 10, wherein a wiring interval between the one go-aroundof the first go-around wiring and the one go-around of the fourthgo-around wiring formed in the first wiring layer is larger than awiring interval between the first and the second wiring layers.
 12. Theinductor as claimed in claim 10, wherein a second inductor is placed inany of the plurality of wiring layers, and wherein the first inductorand the second inductor are magnetically coupled.
 13. The inductor asclaimed in claim 12, wherein the second inductor is placed outside orinside the first inductor when viewed from the upper side of the basesubstrate, or placed at substantially the same position as that of thefirst inductor.
 14. The inductor as claimed in claim 12, whereininductance of the first inductor is larger than inductance of the secondinductor.
 15. The inductor as claimed in claim 12, wherein wiring of thesecond inductor includes wiring formed in a wiring layer with thethickest film thickness of the plurality of wiring layers.
 16. Theinductor as claimed in claim 12, wherein a wiring width of the firstinductor is a wiring width of wiring of the second inductor or narrower.17. The inductor as claimed in claim 12, wherein wiring of the firstinductor is formed in a wiring layer other than the wiring layer withthe thickest film thickness of the plurality of wiring layers.
 18. Theinductor as claimed in claim 12, wherein one terminal of a variableresistance element is connected to the input terminal, and the otherterminal of the variable resistance element is connected to the outputterminal.